George Foster Jr. was known for barbecue, blues

Police say there are leads in homicide, more on the way

George Foster Jr. was the patriarch of a big Tuscaloosa family who was known for his barbecue and the weekend blues festivals he organized.

Submitted photo

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Published: Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, June 14, 2013 at 11:14 p.m.

George Foster Jr. was the patriarch of a big Tuscaloosa family who was known for his barbecue and the weekend blues festivals he organized.

Foster, 67, was found dead at his home on 20th Street in Tuscaloosa on Thursday morning. Investigators believe that robbery was the motive and said there were signs of a struggle. They have not said how Foster was killed.

No arrest had been made as of Friday afternoon.

“I can’t imagine someone coming in here and doing something like that,” said his son Curtis Foster. “I hope they find the person or people who killed my Dad. I ask that anyone out there who knows anything to call the police, please.”

Officers are searching for specific people who they know were in the area Wednesday night, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit commander Sgt. Dale Phillips.

“There are numerous leads that we are following up on, and we continue to have leads come in,” he said. “We’re looking for some people who were in the area that we need to talk with, who may have information.”

Foster grew up in Fosters with several brothers and sisters. He is survived by three of his four children and many grandchildren and other family members.

“He was the head of our family,” said his daughter Courtney Foster. “It’s just tragic.”

Foster enjoyed organizing blues festivals on family land in Fosters. He booked blues acts that would perform Friday through Sunday and would always prepare for the crowd with some type of meat on the smoker or fish for the fryer.

“Any holiday or other event like Stillman homecoming, people would come over and he would cook,” Courtney Foster said. “Everyone knew him for his barbecue.”

He owned Foster’s Stars Club on Johnson Road in the 1990s, she said. He also farmed some of the family property in Fosters. Fosters’ children said that he was known for mowing lawns for older friends and neighbors.

“He was a humanitarian and a good man who loved people,” Courtney Foster said.

Foster is survived by his other daughter, Keisha Foster-Epps and many other family members. His son Anthony Dewayne Graham preceded him in death.